Cornell administrator to lead UC Davis agricultural college

A Cornell scientist and administrator has been named the new dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis.

Helene Dillard, who has served as associate dean at Cornell since 2002, assumes her new job at UC Davis on Jan. 27.

The university’s provost, Ralph Hexter, notes that she has accepted her new position at a pivotal time. “Phenomenal challenges related to global climate change and food production face the research and higher-education community,” Hexter said in a university press release.

The college Dillard will lead includes 330 faculty members, 800 staff, 5,800 undergraduate students in 29 majors and 1,000 graduate students.